Infield: First baseman Mark Grace (1988-2003) had more hits than anyone else during the 1990s. He was a career .300 hitter who drew a good number of walks, hit a ton of doubles and a few home runs, and played solid defense. He scored and drove in more than 1,100 runs, and for good measure he batted .329 in 25 postseason games, finally winning a World Series title after he left his longtime home at Wrigley Field and moved to Arizona. When the great announcer Harry Caray was working Cubs games near the end of his career, he often had trouble enunciating any names more difficult than, say, Mark Grace. One day in 1995, he looked at the Montreal Expos roster and announced that he was going to simply refer to the shortstop as "Mark G," thus depriving viewers of the pleasure of hearing him try to pronounce Mark Grudzielanek (1995-2008). Grudzielanek hit .290 for his career and, like Grace, once hit more than 50 doubles in a season, but he didn't have Grace's batting eye and he wasn't as consistent over such a long period of time. Second baseman Marcus Giles (2001-07) never hit 50 doubles in a season, like Grace and Grudzielanek did, but he hit 49 one season and 45 in another. At age 27, he was a .300 hitter with gap power playing a key defensive position on an Atlanta team that won the division title every year. Then it was gone. He had an off-year in 2006 and the Braves finished third after 11 straight division titles. He went to San Diego as a free agent, had some injuries and batted .229 in 2007. He signed various minor-league deals with Colorado, the Dodgers and the Phillies but never played again in the majors or the minors, one of the most astonishing mid-career disappearing acts in recent memory. Third baseman Mike Gazella (1923-28) never had 50 hits in a season, let alone 50 doubles. He was a spare part on the Murderers' Row Yankees, backing up Koenig at short and Dugan at third. Gazella played on four Yankees teams. All four teams won the AL pennant, and three of the four won the World Series. Gazella appeared in just one postseason game - Game 5 of the 1926 World Series. He went up as a pinch-hitter and got hit by a pitch.
Outfield: Mike Greenwell (1985-96) is part of an amazing lineage of guys who have patrolled left field in front of the Green Moster in Fenway Park. Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice came before him, and Manny Ramirez came afterward, with a few gaps here and there. Those first three are in the Hall of Fame, and ManRam certainly had a Cooperstown-worthy career (though he will only get there if voters are very forgiving once the steroid hysteria subsides). Greenwell is not in the Hall of Fame, but he more than earned his spot in that proud line of Red Sox left fielders, with a .303 career average, more walks than strikeouts, and enough gap power to drive about 35 doubles and 15-20 home runs per year. Marquis Grissom (1989-2005) was a fine defender in center field, a speed burner who twice topped 70 steals in a season, with enough power to hit double-digits in home runs for 13 straight seasons. He didn't draw enough walks to take full advantage of his speed, so he had to bat .300 in about 700 plate appearances if he wanted to score 100 runs, but still, a Gold Glove center fielder with 227 home runs and 429 steals is something to appreciate. A .317 batting average in 52 postseason games doesn't hurt. Mike Griffin (1887-98) was a good center fielder, too, but he moves to right on this team to accommodate Grissom. Griffin scored 120-140 runs a year and stole 473 bases in his career. He was one of the stars of the Brooklyn Grooms in the 1890s.
Catcher: Mike Grady (1894-1906) was a .294 hitter. He played most of his career at catcher and first base, but one day in 1899, while playing third base for the Giants, he set a record that will most likely never be broken - committing four errors on one play. He botched a grounder, threw wild to first base, then mishandled the throw coming in from the outfield and once more threw the ball away. We'll keep him off the hot corner here.
Rotation: Mike Garcia (1948-61) was part of the great Cleveland pitching staffs of the 1950s, sharing the rotation with Hall of Famers Feller, Lemon and Wynn. Garcia didn't make Cooperstown, but he did win 142 games. Mudcat Grant (1958-71) won 145 games in a career spent moving between the rotation and the pen, but we need him more as a starter, so that will be his primary role. He is a smart, colorful man who played in jazz bands, and he was very proud to have been the second black pitcher (after Don Newcombe) win to 20 games in a season. To this day, he operates a charitable foundation called "Black Aces," which involves every black 20-game winner. Mark Gubicza (1984-97) was a big righty who won 132 games for the Royals. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball before arm troubles set in at age 27. Matt Garza (2006- ) has a ways to go if he wants to join Gubicza, Grant and Garcia in that range of 130-145 wins, but he is making progress. Milt Gaston (1924-34) would have won 100 if he'd played for better teams. Instead, he went 97-164, but over the last nine years of his career he never played for a winning team.
Bullpen: Mike Gonzalez (2003- ) will get first shot at the closer role. He's lefty who entered the 2011 season with 55 saves and a career ERA of 2.57. Mike Garman (1969-78) was an effective reliever for several teams. Marv Grissom (1946-59) served in World War II, had a couple of brief trials in the majors but didn't get a long look until after he won 20 games in the Pacific Coast League at age 33. Finally established in the majors at age 34, he went on to win 47 games and posted good ERAs until he was 40. Mark Guthrie (1989-2003) was a workhorse lefty who won a World Series title with Minnesota in '91 and later went to the playoffs with the Dodgers, A's and Cubs. Matt Guerrier (2004- ) is another workhorse righty for the Twins, leading the AL in pitching appearances in 2008 and '09 - a consistently effective reliever. Marv Goodwin (1916-25) had some good years for the Cardinals. Mike Gallo (2003-06) was a solid lefty for the Astros.
Bench: Mike Gallego (1985-97) never hit much but was a fine utility infielder. Mike Gonzalez (1912-32) was a pretty good catcher from Cuba who played on two World Series champs (1921 Cardinals, 1931 Giants) without ever appearing in a postseason game. Mat Gamel (2008- ) is a promising young third baseman. Myron "Moose" Grimshaw (1905-07) is a pinch-hitter off the bench. The last spot on the roster goes to Moonlight Graham (1905), who will finally get his at-bat, and who will be warned in advance not to wink at the pitcher.
Manager: Mase Graffen went 39-17 at the helm of the 1876 St. Louis Brown Stockings.
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